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Force Series LS

With a sequential read speed of up to 560 MB/s, the Force Series LS from Corsair is a force to deal with. This SATA 6 Gbps solid state drive is available in three capacities namely, 60 GB, 120 GB and 240 GB. Each of these variants can reach a maximum sequential write speed of 535 MB/s. The Force Series LS follows a 7 mm form factor and absorbs 4.6 W when active, making it ideal for notebook computers.

The Phison PS3108-S8 controller inside the Force Series LS is an 8-channel controller capable of supporting up to 1 TB of flash storage capacity. Among its features are AES Encryption, S.M.A.R.T., NCQ/TRIM and DEVSLP mode. Together with this controller are MLC Toggle NAND modules and DRAM caches. The 240 GB model has a DRAM cache of 512 MB while the 120 GB and 60 GB has a DRAM cache of 256 MB.

Like a typical Corsair SSD, the Force Series LS has a three-year warranty and a Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) of 1,000,000 hours.

Specification:

Sequential Read: Up to 560 MB/second

Sequential Write: Up to 535 MB/second

NAND type: MLC

Interface: SATA 3

Controller: Phison PS31080-S8

Form Factor: 2.5 inch

DRAM Cache: 512 MB (240 GB), 256 MB (120 GB, 60 GB)

Power Consumption (Active): 4.6W

Power Consumption (Idle): 0.6W

TRIM support: Yes

SMART support: Yes

Warranty: 3 years

Reviews:

Although the overall performance of the Force LS wasn’t on par with the higher-end units, it did do well for its category and while this SSD can be recommended to an average user, it must be cheaper to warrant the purchase.

All in all, the Corsair Force Series LS 240GB SSD, featuring the Phison PS-3108 controller, makes a favorable first impression. On the positive side, the read performance is definitely competitive, even besting some SandForce drives in certain tests… On the negative side, the Force Series LS SSDs are not available in the U.S., one of Corsair’s potentially largest markets.

With the right price, I can see myself recommending the Force LS to an average user but it must be noticeably cheaper than the 840 EVO and others to be worth the saving. A couple dollars (or Euros) simply isn’t enough to warrant the “budget” label, and considering you can find sales on some of the better drives on occasion that are well below the above prices, patient users are advised to wait for a good sale rather than settle for a slightly cheaper but slower SSD.